RASUWA, Oct 24: Locals of Rasuwa have taken initiative to revive a traditional dance of the Tamang community known as Syaba dance. As per the tradition, people of the Tamang community should perform the dance on the first Tuesday after Bhaitika every year. However, this dance was performed in Rasuwa after a hiatus of almost 40 years.
This traditional dance was performed in the district headquarters Dhunche on the initiative of Rasuwa Circle of Conservation and Art (RSCA), Dhunche on Tuesday.
Elderly people recall that this dance used to be performed every year until 1978 but has now become a rare show. People of older generation have some fond memories of the dance but the new generation has only heard of it.
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In order to revive this cultural dance, four groups have been formed in Dhunche. One group consists of 26 to 28 households.
Kamal Tamang, secretary of one of the groups, informed that this dance will be performed every year from now onward.
RSCA decided to perform this dance at a cost of Rs 400,000 for the entire event. According to Tamang, it was very important to perform this dance to make the new generation familiar with it.
This dance was forgotten for years after the death of the traditional dancers. Those familiar with the dance could not pass on this tradition to the new generation.
Recently, RSCA gave training to the Lamas of Dhunche for this dance with a view to give continuity to it. Locals said such traditional dances should be brought back into practice as they play a vital role in preserving the culture.
Basically, the role played by the Lamas in the conservation of wildlife is shown in the Syaba dance. It is locally known as Jarayo dance as Syaba is a Tibetan word.
